NOT THE GOOD KIND OF COOKIES

Google on Wednesday reported it has tracked and disrupted an email phishing campaign tied to Russian-speaking hackers that has targeted YouTube users since 2019 as part of a cryptocurrency scam effort.

In a blog post published Wednesday, Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) detailed how the hackers had used “cookie theft malware” to compromise the YouTube accounts in order to hijack the channels, sell them or use them for broadcasting cryptocurrency scams.

The hackers, who Google said were recruited from a Russian-speaking “hack-for-hire” forum, used emails proposing faked collaboration opportunities with the YouTube channels to send malware or phishing email links to the users.